Ovens may be electric or gas powered and may include a convection component. Convection ovens include one or more fans, typically in the rear of the heating chamber, that circulate air within the heating chamber to create convection currents.
Oven cooling systems rely on one or more internal fans to convectively cool the area around the control electronics as well as around the front door, to enable a user to open the door without danger of being burned. One form of oven cooling system features an internal fan that pulls air past areas that require convective cooling and pushes the heated air out of the front of the oven above the door, which can be uncomfortable especially in hot climates. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,010 to the Whirlpool Corp. has a fan mounted centrally above the insulated cooking chamber which pulls heated air and mixes it with ambient air, then exhausts the mixed air out the front top of the oven. U.S. Pat. No. 7,856,973 to LG Electronics, Inc. also includes an upper front exhaust. Another configuration of oven cooling system blows the hot exhaust air downward rather than out the top front of the oven. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,686,009 to LG Electronics, Inc. blows the hot air down through the door. Dacor® Appliances of Industry, CA has a line of ovens with a reverse air flow cooling system that pulls air in from the front of the oven above the door and ports it out from the bottom, which keeps the oven door temperature comfortable to touch and avoids hot air being blown directly toward the user. In some ovens the same fan used to create convective flow within the cooking chamber is also used for cooling other areas of the oven.
Conventional ovens often have control panels that are on the front of the oven just above the door. Modern ovens have begun to incorporate sophisticated LCD displays in the control panels with capacitive glass touchscreens that are susceptible to damage from overheating. The sensitive electronics are especially vulnerable during the self-cleaning cycle of an oven when the interior temperature can reach up to 900° F.
Despite the long history of oven design, there is a need for an enhanced cooling system that will protect the sensitive electronics more regularly found in modern ovens, and in particular a cooling system that does not add to the cost of the oven such as, for example, adding a fan dedicated to cooling the electronic components.